American Oil and Gas Reporter - June 2014 - 113

SpecialReport: Artificial Lift Technology

Artificial Lift Advances Boost Industry
By Ted Griggs
Special Correspondent
The ongoing and simultaneous development of multiple liquids-rich unconventional plays-including the Bakken,
Eagle Ford, Permian Basin, Niobrara,
Woodbine/Eaglebine, Utica and Mississippian Lime-and their wells' hyperbolic
decline curves have increased the demand
for more efficient, flexible and automated
artificial-lift solutions.
Of course, different situations call for
different approaches. Even so, innovation
is helping to broaden some technologies'
applications so that, for instance, electric
submersible pumps no longer require at
least 300 barrels a day of production, but
now can operate at flow rates as low as
50 bbl/d.
Meanwhile, other new solutions include
automated systems that can assemble
sucker rod strings to American Petroleum
Institute specifications, improving safety
and efficiency and reducing the costs of
human error. Other new offerings include
software that can coordinate gas lift and
plunger lift systems, allowing operators
to efficiently manage gas injection volumes
and plunger travel.
Some Considerations
Expanding shale play activity has
stretched thin the oil field expertise available
in each basin. Artificial lift specialists are
spending more time educating customers
about potential solutions, as well as pooling
information and expert solutions to allow
customers to access the data on line.
Deploying the optimum artificial lift
solution depends on the specifics of each
formation, reflects Ross Pearson, vice
president of operations for Dallas-based
Red Mountain Resources. He cites the
example of the Mississippian Lime, where
horizontal wells produce significant volumes of water, and says ESPs often emerge
as a preferred option in that play. On the
other hand, rod pumping dominates in the
Permian Basin's tight oil resource plays,
Pearson says, although he adds that operators with sufficient gas to run a rental
compressor are trending toward gas lift.
"Most new wells are fracture-stimulated
so you also are dealing with recovering
the load water and probably a hyperbolic
decline curve," Pearson points out.
In the Permian, he says, gas lift offers

operators a number of advantages, including
cost. According to Pearson, the required
eight-10 valves typically run $700-$800
each, while compressors rent for around
$4,000 a month, and an operator with more
than one well already has lease gas. Gas
lift can produce as much as 1,200 bbl/d
and as little as 200-300 bbl/d, he estimates.
"It is a nice bridge to get the frac
fluids and that front-end production,"
Pearson comments. "Once production is
down, you pull it, lay down the valves
and put the well on rod pump."
Electric submersible pumps offer another solution, but generally cost more,
he observes, with installation alone ranging
from $150,000 to $200,000. "ESPs also
do not handle solids very well," he offers.
"So if your well is bringing back frac
sand, you are liable to tear up the pump."
Gas lift, on the other hand, entails no
moving parts for a process that simply
jets the gas through the valves into the
tubing string, he describes. Frac sand
and solids don't affect anything and are
addressed by the surface treating equipment.
The other early artificial lift option is
the hydraulic jet pump, which can handle
solids and even the paraffin common to
the Permian, he relates. Nevertheless, he
assesses, the devices can prove "fussy,"
and few service technicians have the expertise to install and maintain them.
Gas lift presents its own shortcomings,
Pearson allows. The technology cannot

draw well pressures as low as an ESP, he
points out. "Another major drawback
with gas lift, at least in the Permian, is
that producers are far less familiar with
gas lift technology than with rod pumping
or ESPs," he states.
The operator also must have 250 Mcf400 Mcf of gas a day to lift each well,
and another 30 Mcf/d-50 Mcf/d to run
the compressor. "Producers often have
sufficient gas available on the well site,
but in some cases, a third party has to
bring the gas supply, which can impact
the economics," Pearson notes.
Jet Pumps
In the Eagle Ford, where hydrogen
sulfide and paraffin can be major issues,
hydraulic jet pumps have gained popularity, says Jim Speer, business development manager for Accelerated Production
Services.
The Woodlands, Tx.-based firm has
about 60 jet pump systems complete with
surface equipment running on permanent
production in the Eagle Ford, Speer estimates, with an additional 10 units for
frac fluid recovery. He notes that jet
pumps also are being utilized for permanent artificial lift and fracturing fluid recovery in other plays, including the
Bakken Shale, Permian Basin and Mississippian Lime.
The Accelerated jet pump system allows chemical treatments in the power
fluid to handle both the corrosion associ-

With offerings such as this skid-mounted jet pump, Accelerated Production Services is
demonstrating that jet pumps excel in artificial lift applications. The company says the
pumps are especially appropriate for applications in which paraffin and hydrogen sulfide
are significant factors.

JUNE 2014 113

American Oil and Gas Reporter - June 2014

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